Trip Report: Kenya & Uganda, July 19 -
August 11, 1997

Itinerary Summary

Arrived in Nairobi on 19 July, and stayed there 2 days. On the 21st
July travelled by bus to Kampala (Uganda) (10 hours). Stayed 1 day in
Kampala, and then travelled 2 whole days by matatu to Bwindi
National Park (mountain rain forest habitat), in western Uganda, on
the border with Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), via
Fort-Portal, Kasese, Queen Elisabeth NP (unfortunately we didn't stop
here), Ischaka, Rukungiri and Bwindi. We wanted originally to go to
the Ruwenzori mountain range near Fort Portal, but when we arrived in
Fort Portal we found out that the national park there was closed due
to ongoing fighting between the Ugandan army and rebels, so we
decided to continue to Bwindi. Stayed three days in this National Park
(25-27 July), and then travelled to Mgahinga National Park to the
south, on the borders with Rwanda and DR Congo, via Kabale (1 day
travel). Stayed 2 days in Mgahinga NP (29-30 July). Then travelled
back to Kabale, and from then to Lake Mburo National Park
(Savannah), where we stayed one day (1 August). We returned to
Kampala later, and visited Lake Victoria at Entebbe for one day (2
August). Travelled by bus from Kampala to Nairobi the next day, and
the following day we started a 3 day safari at Masai-Mara National
Park (Savannah), on the border with Tanzania (4-6 August). We then
travelled to Mombassa by train, and stayed 4 days at the south end of
Diani beach (coast) (7-10 August). We returned to Nairobi by train on
the night of the 10th, and flew out of Africa on the 11th.

I travelled all the time with Fausto Brito e Abreu (another bird
watcher). From Fort Portal until Mgahinga we also travelled with
Antónia Monteiro (a lepidopterist), Christoph Haag (bird watcher)
and Patricia Salgueiro (biology student).

As field guides we used mostly Ber Van Perlo's Birds of Eastern
Africa, but we also had Williams and Arlott's A field guide to the
birds of East Africa.